Improved reacting water-wheel



NITED STATES PATENT @Finca A. MUNROE, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVED REACTING WATER-WHEEL..

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, A. MUNROE, of Vlorces` ter, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and Improved Horizontal Vater-VVheel; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, ret'- erence being had to the annexed drawings, makinga part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical section of my improvement, 0c, Fig. 2, showing the plane of section. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of same, the top plate of the scroll being removed. Fig. 3 is a detached vertical section of the inclined plates which are attached to the arms of the wheel y y, Fig. l, showing the plane of section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

lcenter of the wheel, so as to allow a free and unobstructed current to pass through the spiral or scroll.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a scroll or spiral sluice which is connected with the flume or penstock of a mill-pond or reservoir of water by which the wheel is driven.

B represents the wheel, which is iitted within the scroll A, as shown in Fig. 2. The inner side of the scroll is not formed of a solid plate, but of plates a, which are placed lin oblique positions similar to slats of blinds, so that the water can pass between the slats or plates a and act upon or against the buckets of the wheel.

The wheel B is formed of two rims b b,

i placed one above the other and connected to between the two rims b Z1. The arms therefore are curved, as shown clearly in Fig. 1.

The buckets d of the wheel are of concave form, as shown in Fig. 2, and are placed vertically andtangentially between the rims b Z1,

so that their inner ends will be nearer together than their outer ends. (See Fig. 2..)

.To the arms c of the wheel B there are attached plates e, the front edges of which are rounded. These plates of course are curved or bent, corresponding with the curvature of the arms, and the front parts of the upper plates e are bent downward and the front parts of the lower plates e are bent upward, as shown in Fig. 3.

The plates a are so placed relatively withv the buckets d that they will cause the water to act against the outer edges of the buckets at right angles with them. The water passes from the buckets into the center of the wheel and is split or divided into two parts or columns by the plates e, which as they rotate force one part or column out over the top of the wheel and scroll and the other part below or underneath the scrolland wheel, as shown by the arrows in Fig. l.`

The above improvement is intended for a submerged wheel, and the plates e cause the water to pass through the scroll and act upon the wheel in au unbroken current as the plates assist the discharge of the water from the center of the wheel.

The above wheel has been practically tested and operates well when placed at a considerable depth below the surface of the water.

I do not claim the scroll A nor the concave buckets d when separately considered, for they have been previously used; but

What I do claim'l as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

rlhe scroll A, having the guide or delecting f plates a attached to it, the wheel B, provided with the concave buckets CZ, and the plates e, attached to its arms c, the above parts being arranged and combined, as shown, for the purpose specified.

A. MUNROE.

Witnesses WM. HENRY l-IowE, WM. GRoUr. 

